Q&A with Candi Jensen

When did you first discover your passion for knitting and crocheting?

I was a rather rambunctious child, lots of energy, with two older sisters who were quiet and studious. Although my parents rarely went out, we did have a babysitter from time to time and she just didn't know what to do with me. While my sisters read I ran around in circles and got on her last nerve, so she taught me to knit. For some reason she saw in me a sparkle of creativity that could be channeled onto a pair of knitting needles. I was instantly hooked, although the crochet came later, and would knit long strips of nothing in particular. I sometimes marvel at how lucky I was to be such an obnoxious child that I warranted the extra attention that led to knitting.

As for crocheting I was completely self-taught. I had my first child when I was very young and had just moved to San Francisco. I was desperate to make something for the baby, and crocheting was very popular in the late 60s, so I just started to make a blanket by trial and error. Being able to move so quickly across the width of the piece and add colors at random really sold me on crochet as much as anything.

Do you recall the first piece you made?

When I was a child I just made long pieces of garter stitch, completely fascinated by the process. The first piece that I made that was functional was a crochet baby blanket. Lots of colors in double crochet.

How have you seen the art of knit and crochet change over the last 30 years?

It certainly has ebbed and flowed over those years. In the late 60s through the 70s crochet was lively and exciting and much more creative than knitting. Everyone experimented with color, textures, and sculpture. An amazing time. Then going into the late 70s and early 80s everyone followed Seventh Avenue to the knitting alter. Knits were everywhere on the runway, with Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis leading the pack. Unfortunately by the end of the 80s the knitwear trend died out, and so did the number of people who knit. There are, of course, many people like myself who never gave up on knitting and crochet or their passion for the craft.

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Have you seen a resurgence of the craft amongst the 20- to 30-something age group?

Much to my delight the younger generation has embraced knitting and crochet with a zeal that I haven't seen since the 70s. It has become "hip" to knit and "cool" to crochet, and this group of young people are poised to keep the creativity flowing.

Why do think it's become so hip?

I believe people just have an instinctual need to use their hands and be creative. We all spend so much time in front of computers, TV, and our BlackBerries that it's refreshing to have a little "hands on" time.

You've got more than 11 books published, with more on the way; what inclined you to launch your new show, Knit & Crochet Today, on PBS?

Knitting and crochet is a visual medium and I knew it was perfect for television. I wanted to share with everyone my love of the craft and pass along helpful tips and engaging projects. PBS is the perfect place for "how to" TV since it is available to everyone, and hopefully you don't have to have a cable hookup to get it.

Tell us a little bit about the show!

We have a great host, Kassie Depaiva, who is a TV veteran from the daytime show One Life To Live, and she loves to crochet. She is a novice knitter, which actually makes for a lot of great questions on her part. Every episode has a knitting and a crochet segment, a "field" piece with Brett Bara, who either interviews designers or runs off to some other interesting spot, plus a tip segment with Linda Cyr. We back up everything with patterns and kits on our Website, knitandcrochettoday.com.

Are you a one-project-at-a-time kind of gal or do you like to start various patterns at the same time and hop around from one to the other?

I'm the 20-projects-at-a-time gal. My mind starts to wander and I get a creative jolt that I just have to attend to, even if I have something in my hand that I'm already working on. My husband calls it "going to Candi Land." I just know I can't control it. Way too much creativity going on in this brain!

If you could give first-time knitters and crocheters one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don't worry about making mistakes, just rip and keep going. We all make mistakes. I make some real whoppers, but in the end we knit and crochet because we love it, so just have fun.

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